I was having a conversation with a friend the other day. We were talking about someone who seemed really high potential, but did not do well at his job. He was ultimately let go.
My friend had a hard time - he said that he had regarded this person highly, and was surprised that this happened. And disappointed - how could a person he regarded so early not do well?
And that is where I think where a list of misconceptions lie. The myth about good people. It's that our potential is static, and determines our success completely. It's that we can make an organization succeed if we just bring in high potential people in.
But that is just half the story. The other half is what we often disregard - which is what the organization does to enable its employees to be successful. Does it provide autonomy? Does it provide clear goals? Does it care for the person's success?
And is the person the right fit in the organizational culture? There are places that I did well, and places where I didn't. It all came down to how motivated I was, which was in turn driven by how well I fit into the culture, and whether I was passionate about my work, and happy about working with my colleagues.
So just hiring good people is not enough. Culture and fit is what takes in good people, and turns them into a high performing organization
My friend had a hard time - he said that he had regarded this person highly, and was surprised that this happened. And disappointed - how could a person he regarded so early not do well?
And that is where I think where a list of misconceptions lie. The myth about good people. It's that our potential is static, and determines our success completely. It's that we can make an organization succeed if we just bring in high potential people in.
But that is just half the story. The other half is what we often disregard - which is what the organization does to enable its employees to be successful. Does it provide autonomy? Does it provide clear goals? Does it care for the person's success?
And is the person the right fit in the organizational culture? There are places that I did well, and places where I didn't. It all came down to how motivated I was, which was in turn driven by how well I fit into the culture, and whether I was passionate about my work, and happy about working with my colleagues.
So just hiring good people is not enough. Culture and fit is what takes in good people, and turns them into a high performing organization
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